When we first moved to San Diego, Bai Yook was one of our favorite Thai Restaurants. I had always enjoyed the Grilled Beef Salad(Yum Nua) at Bai Yook; and though we had a found a few Thai Restaurants we enjoyed more, we still used to return to Bai Yook every so often. Still, we hadn’t been back to Bai Yook since we moved a bit farther away from the Hillcrest area several years ago. Our not so great visit to Saffron had kind of left us reeling, and also craving some decent Thai Food, and Bai Yook came up in the conversation. So we decided to have dinner at Bai Yook a few nights ago.
Located in a fairly quite corner in the busy Hillcrest Shopping Colonnade, Bai Yook is a small but quaint and relaxing little restaurant. Sitting in the dining room of Bai Yook, you wouldn’t even know that a few doors down is a Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, or Lalo’s Al Pastor Taco Shop.
We arrived at about 530 and found the restaurant to be completely empty, we requested a table outside, and was quickly seated. As we looked over the menu we noticed many changes since or last visit. A few of our favorite dishes, like a seafood clay pot dish were missing.
But at least my "old favorite" Yum Nua(Grilled Beef Salad – $7.95), was still on the menu. I eagerly awaited my old favorite beef salad; nice and tender grilled beef on a bed of lettuce, crisp cucumber, slices of tomato, julienned carrots, lot’s of thinly sliced onion, cilantro, all in a spicy lime and fish sauce dressing. The coup de grace was the nice sprinkling of roasted ground rice powder that would add a nice nutty flavor to the salad. What I got brought me down to Earth :
I could literally smell the salad before I saw it! Waaay to much fish sauce, made the dish quite salty and fishy, and not enough lime to balance the dish. The lettuce was a single wilted leaf, on which lied sliced beef that looked pan fried, and though very soft, left an oily film on your tongue. The oily beef was surrounded with two meager slices of cucumber and tomato "lying in state". There was a bit of rice powder, but the overwhelming amount of fish sauce blocked everything else out.
I still had Pad See Eew on my mind, so I ordered the Pad See Eew with Shrimp ($8.95):
Now on the menu I read that the Pad See Eew was prepared with "black bean sauce" and came with Chinese Broccoli. I dunno, maybe this is a new type of Chinese Broccoli(Gai Lan )? Sure looks like ordinary (Brassica oleracea Italica) broccoli to me. The Black Bean Sauce should have scared me off, but unfortunately, it didn’t. These really weren’t black bean like I know it, but some other fermented bean that was extremely salty, bitter, and astringent. To quote the Missus; "it tastes like Chinese medicine". Too bad, the shrimp were cooked to a nice tender state(and fortunately hadn’t absorbed the bitter taste), and though not fantastic; the noodles were also cooked well. I drank three glasses of water trying to finish this.
The Missus had wanted the Salmon Curry($10.95), but they were out of salmon, so we got the "Choo-Chi", a Fried Fish (we were told it was snapper) Curry($12.95).
Though the peas kind of threw me off, and I found the "curry" to be very watery, this dish was by far the best of the evening. The fish fillets were breaded and fried to moist perfection. The curry though thin and runny, was passable, though a bit heavy on coconut milk and salt. We did finish this dish, so it must have been pretty good.
As I licked my salt-chapped lips, I wondered what had happened to my beloved Beef Salad? What happened to Bai Yook? And even with more dread, I remembered that I had recommended this place to more then a few people! Yikes!
Bai Yook Thai Cuisine
1260 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Monday – Friday Lunch: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Dinner: 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
dude, look in the back… the old cook is long gone man…
same thing just happened to me at my favorite tempura place, i took one bite of the damn shrimp and i was ready to pounce on the waitress and ask where the hell the old cook went…. now i try to look at the faces in the back to see if the same guy’s making the dishes as last time cause turnover is so bad these days…
Thanks for the warning! It’s always so disappointing when that happens.
Maybe you could ask them where the old chef went and go looking for him/her ! *comfort* poor kirk … being dissapointed by an old favourite haunt is worse than finding a new place that doesn’t quite meet expectations.
Oh no! Where’d all the good Thai go in San Diego? Seems like most of the places you’ve visited have been a disappoinment on some level Kirk.
That looked horrible! Sometimes it is hard to tell from the photo, but that really did look bad. Luckily I had an awesome meal just then *ahhhhh& mmmmmmm
Wow! You are so prolific in your posts and eating out! Keep up the great work!
What are you tasting?,
Edna
Hi DCCF – Ha! Funny. But I didn’t know what the “old cook” looked like……LOL!
Hi Kady – This was pretty bad. I just feel terrible that I used to recommend Bai Yook to others….
Hi Rachel – It does feel like the rug has been pulled from under you.
Hi James – I’ve been told that “there is no good Thai food in San Diego” about a thousand times. But I’ve always thought that there were a few decent places.
Hi Clare – Good for you…:o)
Hi Edna – Well you know what I was tasting!
Rule #1: If *nobody* is eating there at what should be a kind of busy dinner hour (Mondays and Tuesdays, you just can’t tell)either don’t bother, or buy something basic and cheap and see if it is OK before spending all of your money(for Thai we do a small larb salad and tell them its an appetizer and then decide to order more or not)..I figure if they cannot do something that should be ‘basic’ they don’t get my money…
Rule#2: Stick to basics the first time you try *any* new place…Mexican: quesedilla and/or bean burrito…if they cannot do that right, don’t buy meat…
etc….
Hi Cathy – Well let’s put it this way:
Rule #1 – It was Monday, but people are kinda late eaters in San Diego anyways. Bai Yook was one of our regular stops several years back, and so why would we treat it like a brand new restaurant?
Rule#2 – What’s more basic then Pad See Eew – noodles, egg, soy sauce, and broccoli? To me, Pad See Eew is a test of the Chef’s ability….Also, back to “rule#1” this was not a brand new place…..
Kirk,
What a bummer- Bai Yook was always somewhere that I felt was “safe” to go when I wanted decent, affordable Thai food! I haven’t been there in a while either, and I think I’ll be steering clear of there in the future- my husband and I tend to prefer Celadon anyway, as it is the location of our first date 🙂
Hi Joan – Same here. Celadon is our favorite Thai Restaurant in San Diego; but we haven’t been there in a while either…..
Bai Yook use to be our back-up when we couldn’t find any parking at Celadon. Guess I can cross this place off my list.
Hey Jack – Now that a couple of people have confirmed that Bai Yook used to be pretty good. I’m feeling that I should give them another shot. Not sure though….
Hi Kirk,
YIKES? Awww…I’m sorry you were disappointed. It’s hard, isn’t it? Especially to discover that an old favorite just fades away.
Hi Reid – I just wonder what’s going on with this place.
My favorite Thai restaurant is Taste of Thai – not the one in Hillcrest but the one in the Flower Hill Center in Del Mar. Food there is excellent. The old owner of Karinya’s in Pacific Beach is the manager there now.
However, closer to home I have found a new Thai restaurant called Lanna (The Art of Thai Cuisine) on 4501 Mission Bay Drive. We had dinner there last night and it was very good. Needs more exploring.
Hi Maureen – Welcome and thanks for commenting! I’m glad you said not the one in Hillcrest…but I thought they were the same. Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll keep that one in mind.
I am truly dissapointed by the feedback here. I have been a long time Bai Yook customer and have enjoyed the excellent food and relaxing atmosphere it represents. The food is nothing but authentic and original, prepared the way a “TRUE” Thai cuisine would serve. You need to keep an open mind and taste when it comes to Thai food, it is unique and prepped a certain way. You’re not going to get the same tasting dish every time you eat.I eat at Ruth’s Chris steakhouse frequently and they sometimes overcook my steak. Should I stop eating at Ruth’s Chris? Bottom line, if the food is THAT bad, request it to be re-cooked by simply asking the servers or managers, i’m sure they would not have a problem. Why bash them from behind with words and simply express your concerns off the bat. If I were an owner, I would like to know, all you’re doing is ruining someone’s good reputation for your lack of respect. To the owners of Bai Yook, keep up the great busniness that you do, don’t even sweat the comments posted by these inconsiderate people.
C.A.
Hi Chris A – If you think you are disappointed, think about Us. Bai Yook used to be one of our favorite Thai Restaurants, but unfortunately it no longer is. It seems that others feel that way as well! I think that you feel that anyone who doesn’t share your opinion is showing a lack of respect, and that is wrong. I think it is you that needs to keep an open mind! If you have doubts about my ability to keep an open mind about food, then you haven’t taken the time out to read my other posts on Wat Thai Temple, Asia Cafe, and other restaurants. In other words, you speak from ignorance. I take the time to ensure I’m fair, and honest about the food I eat. I shouldn’t need to keep sending dishes back for “repair”, creating a situation of escalating irritation. BTW, if Ruth’s Chris screws up my steak, for the price you pay for it – why the heck should I return.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me!
Chris, if you enjoy the food, please keep eating at Bai Yook. I find that Bai Yook is a mere shadow of it’s former self.